Quenya is the Elvish language associated with the Noldor and Valinor in J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology.
Tolkien modeled Quenya partly on the sound and structure of Finnish, while also developing its grammar and vocabulary as part of his larger linguistic project. In the mythology, Quenya was spoken by the Elves of Valinor and was especially connected with the Noldor, the people who later returned to Middle-earth.
Quenya remained an important ceremonial and scholarly language in many settings, while Sindarin became the more commonly spoken Elvish language in much of Middle-earth. The two are therefore not interchangeable. Quenya appears in names, songs, titles, and formal speech, including words such as Eärendil and the greeting “Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo.” Tolkien’s language-building came before, and helped generate, many elements of his fictional history.